Temples of Tamilnadu

Sri Agastheeswarar Temple at Kolapakkam, near Porur, is one of the Navagraha temples around Chennai, expecially Porur. This temple is Surya Parihara Sthalam. There is a seperate shrine for Suryan facing West. Suryan is accorded prime importance in this temple. The Lord here got the name Agastheeswarar because Agasthyar the Great Sage is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva here. His consort is Anandavalli. The Lord here was also worshiped by another Sage called Vakeesa and hence He is also known as Vakeeswarar.

The Sthala Vriksham is Arasa Maram or Peepal tree. The holy theertham is Amritha Pushkarni.

Kala Bhairavar is another very powerful Deity in this temple. Special puja is performed every Sunday to Kala Bhairavar during Rahu Kalam. Devotees believe that their wishes are fulfilled by worshiping Kala Bhairavar here for six consecutive Sundays. Offerings of red cloth, red flowers and wheat are made by the devotees to Suryan.

 

There are seperate shrines for Pillayar – known as Raja Ganapathy at this temple, Kasi Vishwanathar and Visalakshi, Kala Bhairavar, Lord Muruga with his wives Valli and Deivayani. The peacock which is the vahana or vehicle of Lord Muruga is made out of green coloured granite and is known as Maragadha Mayil. There is also the Rinavimochana Lingeshwarar who is supposed to free His devotees of all debts. According to scriptures, every human being is born with three types of debts. They are Deva rina (debt to God), Rishi rina (debt to Sages or Rishis) and Pitru rina (debt to ones ancestors). There are also well-defined means of repaying these debts. If a man does not repay these debts in his lifetime he will have another birth to repay. There is no escape from repaying these debts. Read more about how to rid of these debts in my post on Kadan Nivartheeswarar Temple at Thirucherai.

 

According to inscriptions, this temple has been built and rebuilt several times at various times by many Kings of various Dynasties. Some of them are Raja Raja Chola I, Raja Raja Chola II, Aditya Chola, Rajendra Chola and Sundara Pandyan. Vijakanda Gopala a Telugu Chola King and Vijaya Maharaja of Sumatra have also patronised and contributed to the temple at various times. The area surrounding temple also seems to have been the seat of Budhdhist activity in this region. Archeological evidence pointing to this has been unearthed by the ASI.

Here is a report in The Hindu on these findings by the ASI.

The temple was almost in ruins in 1998 before it was rebuilt. I have posted some snaps of how the temple looked prior to 1998.

This is one of the Navagraha temples around Chennai. The list is as follows

1. Suryan Sthalam – Gnayiru Gramam, Surya Sthalam & Agastheeswarar Kovil, Kolapakkam

2. Chandran Sthalam – Somanatheswarar Temple, Somangalam

3. Chevvai Sthalam or Angakaran Sthalam – Vaitheeswaran Kovil, Poonamalee

4. Budhan Sthalam – Sundareswarar Kovil, Kovur & Karaneeswarar Koil, Saidapet

5. Guru Sthalam – Ramanatheeswarar Koil, Porur & Thiruvaleeswarar Koil, Padi

6. Sukran Sthalam – Valleeswarar Kovil, Mylapore, Valleeswarar Kovil, Mangadu

7. Saneeswaran Sthalam – Agastheeswarar Kovil, Pozhichalur

8. Rahu Sthalam –  Nageswarar Temple, Kunrathur

9. Kethu Sthalam – Neelakanteswarar Kovil, Gerugambakkam

 

 

Location: Kolapakkam is on the outskirts of Chennai. It can be reached from Mount Poonamalee road. At the Ramavaram signal you can take a left turn into Manapakkam and this road will lead to Kolapakkam which is about 3 Kms from there. This can also be approached from Porur – Kunrathur Road through Gerugambakkam which is the neighbouring village and site of one of the other eight Navagraha temples around Porur. This can also be reached from Pozhichalur neighbouring Pammal and Pallavaram which is where the Saneeswaran temple is located. One has to cross a small causeway over Adyar river, so this route may not be very ideal during the rainy season. Moreover, these internal roads are not very well maintained.

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Temple Timings: 7 AM to 11 AM & 4 PM to 8 PM (Timings subject to change on special days and important festival days)

Temple Address:

Arulmigu Anandavalli Sametha Agastheeswarar Koil

Kolapakkam

Chennai 602 122